They were stupid high school kids, I reminded myself. Why should I care what they thought?
Sighing, I opened my book and pretend to follow along. On the other side of the lab table, A skinny kid with big black glasses stared at me like I was a crocodile in his soup.
“What?” I barked at him.
I’ve got to give the kid credit. He didn’t flinch. Instead, he raised an eyebrow, pushed his glasses back up on the bridge of his nose and shook his head.
I had to smile, the perfect response.
“What’s your name?” I asked in a gruff tone.
Again, the kid didn’t flinch. “Charles Huntington, and don’t bother, I know yours.”
I laughed. At least he was honest. “Okay, Chuck. You leave me alone and I’ll return the favor.”
He frowned for a moment. “It’s not Chuck. It’s not Chase. It isn’t even Charlie. It is Charles.”
I stared at him, fighting to keep my mouth from dropping to the floor. Didn’t the kid realize who I was? Where I had just come from? Didn’t he know saying something like that could get a guy hurt?
Then it hit me. I was in civilization again. He just expected that he was safe.
Bad things didn’t happen to good people out here. That was the rule. At least until a person found out different.
“Okay, Chip,” I said to him with a smile.
He blanched for a moment, then laughed. Okay, I could handle this. The kid wasn’t a complete loss.
The two of us kept quiet for the rest of the class. Each in our own world. Another thing to like about the kid. He didn’t blabber on all day like half the guys around here.
I couldn’t help from wondering about the kid. He looked like a junior, not a senior, but then half the kids in the class were probably juniors. Tall and lanky, would be the nice way to say it. Skinny as a beanpole would be more accurate.
He’s probably a nerd, I thought. But at least he wasn’t frightened of the big bad Luke Prescott.
As the clock ticked down to the end of class several people started to fidget and get antsy. The teacher kept droning on, oblivious to the fact she’d lost the crowd ten minutes earlier.
I had to laugh inside every time I looked up at the clock. Me and time were intimately acquainted. The best of friends and the worst of enemies. I had long ago learned how to ignore the ticking clock. It was either that or go insane.
At last, the bell rang and I nodded to Chip and got out of there. When I found Jenny’s locker, I leaned up against it and watched the world go by.
How did these people do it every day? Chaos, no structure. No one telling them where to be or how to get there. Each of them worried about who liked who or if they passed their latest test.
Why didn’t they get it? None of it mattered. It could all disappear without any warning.
Shaking my head, I turned and my heart slammed to a halt. A pretty girl was walking towards me. Long brown hair and deep brown eyes that reminded me of a doe on a spring morning. Large and soulful.
She caught my eye and frowned. I continued to stare. Curves. Sweet soft curves. Tight jeans, a cute blue top.
Rich, I thought. Something about her said money. A daddy’s girl, I bet.
I swallowed hard. Girls were the biggest change for me. Especially girls like this.
My heart jumped when she stopped at the locker next to Jenny’s and shot me a quick glance before dialing in her combo.
That look said so much. It was as if I was a piece of gum stuck to her shoe. A look that said how dare I exist in the same universe as her.
Again, that familiar anger began to build inside of me. At the same time, a nervousness threatened to take over. This was not someone I could intimidate with my size or fighting ability. This was a person who didn’t recognize those things as important.
“Let me guess,” she said as she put away her books. “You’re Jenny’s big bad brother Luke?”
My brow furrowed in confusion. Was it that obvious?
“I’m Amy,” she continued. “Jenny’s best friend. You have her eyes. That and the fact that she told me you would be here.”
I relaxed a little. Jenny had written about her best friend Amy Jensen in her weekly letters. Usually stories about how great she was. They’d become friends their freshman year, just after I went in. And I had been right. She was rich, or at least her father was.
She stepped back and let her eyes run over me for a quick second then silently shook her head. I’d seen that look before. It was close to the same look my mom had half the time. A look of disappointment.
A girl like this was as far out of bounds as it was possible to get, I had to remind myself. Especially for a semi-reformed jerk like me.
I held her stare for a second. I could see it in her eyes. To her, I was the guy who had embarrassed her best friend. The low life who had returned to disturb the peace.
She was probably right, I thought as I mentally checked off all the reasons why a girl like this would not be interested. Beautiful, rich, obviously intelligent, going somewhere in life. And, oh yeah, Jenny’s best friend.
A disappointment settled in the pit of my stomach.
Again, that nasty angry feeling returned. All because little miss perfect would turn her nose up at someone like me. I didn’t blame her, but that didn’t make the anger go away. People had been judging me all day. And now this girl had pushed me over the edge.
I smirked at her, “So?” I asked. “I hear you don’t have a boyfriend?”
Her face drained of all color and her eyes squinted up at me. I’d touched a sore spot.
Great, I thought with regret. I’d hurt her for no good reason. Once again proving I shouldn’t be allowed out in public.
“You applying for the job?” she asked once she had gotten herself back under control. “Because if you are. I must warn you. I do a detailed background check. Only those of the highest moral character are considered.”
“Really?” I laughed, all the while my stomach clenched up as if I’d been kicked in the gut. “Does that keep you warm at night?”
She sniffed, then tossed her hair over her shoulder as she slammed her locker closed a little harder than she needed to. I could see her trying to work out a snarky response, but Jenny arrived and saved us from clawing at each other anymore.”
“Good. You two met,” Jenny said with a wide smile as she looked back and forth between us.
Amy held my stare for a moment then nodded.
Jenny frowned then turned to me. “Come on, I’m hungry.”
I looked at Amy, then to my sister, and shook my head. “You go ahead. I’ve got some things I need to take care of.
Jenny’s eyes grew concerned.
“Don’t worry,” I said to her. “I told you. I won’t kill anyone. At least not today.”
Amy gasped. Jenny shook her head and slapped me on the shoulder. “Don’t say stuff like that. Amy doesn’t know when you’re teasing.”
I looked down at Amy and smiled. “Who said anything about teasing? You know us people of low moral character. That’s all we think about.”
Jenny sighed heavily and shook her head. I know I’d disappointed her. But then that seemed to be my role in life.
First Love Page 25
